No. 3 Cardinals Beat No. 15 San Diego 3-1

Friday, September 2

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

5-0,0-0ACC

San Diego

3-1,0-0WCC

San Diego

Louisville

September 02, 2022 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Match Highlights

Louisville wins first match of Cardinal Classic

By: Cortney VanLiew

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Aiko Jones had 15 kills, three aces, and four blocks to lead the No. 3-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 25-18, 13-25, 25-11, 26-24 victory against the No. 15-ranked San Diego in the home opener at the Cardinal Classic Friday night at the L&N federal Credit Union Arena.

UofL hit .276 as a team with 52 kills, eight aces, and 11 blocks to remain undefeated at 5-0. Claire Chaussee recorded 15 kills, one block, and six digs. Amaya Tillman hit .357 with seven kills and six blocks and setter Raquel Lazaro had a team-high 44 assists and team-high 14 digs. Anna DeBeer and Elena Scott both recorded double-digit digs.

The Toreros hit .175 with six blocks and six aces to drop to 3-1. San Diego was led by Katie Lukes who had 17 kills and one block. Setter Gabby Blossom had a team-high 40 assists and team-high 16 digs.

The Cardinals are back in action this weekend versus Ohio State on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Set 1
The Cards jumped out to an 3-0 start led by back to back kills from Jones, DeBeer, and Chaussee. San Diego hung with them and kept the score within two with fast offensive and tough serving. A solo block from SD's Leyla Blackwell tied the score at 10-10. After a crucial challenge by the Toreros, the Cards get back-to-back points led by strong blocking. Heading into the media timeout, Chaussee led the Cardinals with five kills hitting .625. UofL pulled ahead to 21-17 with a kill and ace from Jones to force San Diego into a timeout. The Cardinals finished the set 25-18 on a kill from Chaussee, her seventh of the night. Jones had four kills, one ace, and two blocks.

Set 2
In the second set, San Diego took the lead for the first time in the match with five straight points to make the score 6-1. The Cardinals stormed back into the match with effective swings from Cara Cresse and DeBeer but Toreros managed to extend their lead to 9-3 after winning a challenge called by UofL. A solo block from DeBeer pushed the Cardinals within four to make the score 6-10. Leading 13-7, the Toreros forced the Cardinals to call their first timeout of the season. UofL used their second timeout after back-to-back errors from the Cardinals made the score 17-10. The Toreros offense could not be stopped, and San Diego won the second set 25-13 on an ace from Alex Honglund. The Toreros had 12 kills and five aces while the Cardinals had 11 kills and one ace.

Set 3
San Diego won the first point of the third set, but UofL quickly answered back with a kill from Cresse. Tillman brought energy for the Cardinals with a huge block and kill. After a six point run, Louisville forced the Toreros to burn a timeout early in the set. A massive kill, her ninth and back-to-back aces, her third from Jones pushed the score to 9-2. Chaussee recorded three more kills to make the score 14-6. A dig-set combo from Scott and Lazaro resulted in another kill for Chaussee. A solo stuff block from Tillman to make the score 16-7 pressed San Diego to use their second timeout. Two aces in a row from Scott keep the momentum with UofL. Jones got her double-digit kill with a giant swing from the backrow. The Cardinals finish the set 25-11 with a lights-out performance from Tillman, who had five kills and a block in the third set. The Toreros hit .207 while the Cardinals hit .696.

Set 4
The final set started with good match play on both sides of the court. A kill from Grace Frohling gave the Toreros a 4-2 start but a block solo from DeBeer brings it within one. The teams continued to battle back-and-forth for the lead until the Cardinals pulled ahead 12-9 causing San Diego to call their first timeout. Two kills from the Toreros brought the score within one but a kill from Chaussee kept the momentum with UofL. A service ace from San Diego tied the score at 14-14. The Toreros pull ahead 18-16 making the Cards call their first timeout of the set. Two unanswered points from San Diego made UofL to call their second timeout. Energy from the sold-out crowd aided the Cardinals in bringing the score within one point. Back-to-back kills from Louisville tied the score at 21-21. With the score tied 23-23, Jones and Tillman posted a massive stuff block to put the Cardinals up one forcing San Diego to use its last timeout. A solo stuff block by Tillman ended the match 26-24 in front of an electric crowd.